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Very Short Introductions #279
Madness: A Very Short Introduction
Madness is something that frightens and fascinates us all. It is a word with which we are universally familiar, and a condition that haunts the human imagination. In this Very Short Introduction , Andrew Scull provides a provocative and entertaining examination of the social, cultural, medical, and artistic responses to mental disturbance across more than two millennia, concluding with some observations on the contemporary accounts of mental illness. He shows that through the centuries, in poetry and in prose, in drama and in the visual arts, madness has been on display for all to see. He also describes how a whole industry has grown up, devoted to its management and suppression. Perhaps most important, he conveys how madness profoundly disturbs our common sense assumptions; threatens the social order, both symbolically and practically; creates almost unbearable disruptions in the texture of daily living; and turns our experience and our expectations upside down. Throughout this
fascinating history, many fascinating and arresting pictures illuminate the overall portrait of madness in its various contexts.
fascinating history, many fascinating and arresting pictures illuminate the overall portrait of madness in its various contexts.
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2011
44 people are currently reading
1094 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Scull
26 books81 followersAndrew T. Scull (born 1947) is a British-born sociologist whose research is centered on the social history of medicine and particularly psychiatry. He is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Science Studies at University of California, San Diego and recipient of the Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contributions to the history of medicine. His books include Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine and Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity.
Scull was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of Allan Edward Scull, a civil engineer and Marjorie née Corrigan, a college teacher. He received his BA with first class honors from Balliol College, Oxford. He then studied at Princeton University, receiving his MA in Sociology in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1974. He was a postdoc at University College London in 1976-77.
Scull taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1973 until 1978 when was appointed to the sociology faculty at University of California, San Diego as an Associate Professor. He was appointed a full professor in 1982, and Distinguished Professor in 1994.
Scull was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of Allan Edward Scull, a civil engineer and Marjorie née Corrigan, a college teacher. He received his BA with first class honors from Balliol College, Oxford. He then studied at Princeton University, receiving his MA in Sociology in 1971 and his Ph.D. in 1974. He was a postdoc at University College London in 1976-77.
Scull taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1973 until 1978 when was appointed to the sociology faculty at University of California, San Diego as an Associate Professor. He was appointed a full professor in 1982, and Distinguished Professor in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 26, 2023
A good place to start as long as you’re okay with a lot of pretentious writing. Certainly helps give a basic understanding of the larger idea of madness, but falls short in approach any notions of mad theory. Primarily focusing on institutions (pharma, asylums, medical community), does little to tell of madness from a mad perspective, but still a worthwhile look at history in a broad and (mostly) accessible way. Need for read a book like this about Eastern understanding of madness because that’s entirely skipped over in this book
June 9, 2017
a concise intro into a controversial illness
The book sheds light on madness and the controversy that surrounds it when it comes to its diagnosis (somatic disease or psychological disturbance) and treatment.
The book sheds light on madness and the controversy that surrounds it when it comes to its diagnosis (somatic disease or psychological disturbance) and treatment.
April 24, 2021
I'm kinda sad that this was my Día del libro read but it's okay, at least I felt like I was working and completed my "goal" of reading a book that day.
This introduction is okay, it does what it promises and not much else, I definitely found some things interesting but I wasn't all that fazed. The bits where the author talks about media (books, paintings, movies) definitely was what I loved most, I know the book wasn't about that so I'm not asking of it to have had more but if there is a book talking especifically about the representation of mental illness through history I would love to read that. In all, as a hopefully social psychologist, the struggle of psychoanalysis vs psychiatry debate without focusing on social aspects that much well, as I said, didn't faze me that much.
Still, this is "very short", as its title reads, so I'm not going to criticise it too much haha.
I find it interesting because I think my Psychopathology teacher wants to be this author (based on how he talks and composes his classes) and they both remind me a lot of my History teacher from high school. The theory that there is 7 people in the world like you is starting to take form.
This introduction is okay, it does what it promises and not much else, I definitely found some things interesting but I wasn't all that fazed. The bits where the author talks about media (books, paintings, movies) definitely was what I loved most, I know the book wasn't about that so I'm not asking of it to have had more but if there is a book talking especifically about the representation of mental illness through history I would love to read that. In all, as a hopefully social psychologist, the struggle of psychoanalysis vs psychiatry debate without focusing on social aspects that much well, as I said, didn't faze me that much.
Still, this is "very short", as its title reads, so I'm not going to criticise it too much haha.
I find it interesting because I think my Psychopathology teacher wants to be this author (based on how he talks and composes his classes) and they both remind me a lot of my History teacher from high school. The theory that there is 7 people in the world like you is starting to take form.
February 12, 2021
This is yet another of the many “Very Short Introduction” books from Oxford University Press that I’ve been pleased to read and review. The series offers concise overviews of a wide range of topics that are presented by scholarly experts. This particular book is a historical examination of the changing approaches to mental illness from the ancient world where such a condition might be attributed to demonic possession to more recent times in which drugs and decarceration / defunding of asylums have become the dominant approaches to mental illness. Along the way the book shines a light on the immense difficulty experts have had in understanding what mental illnesses are and how they can best be dealt with. The book not only looks at the real-world response to mental illness, but also explores how it’s been treated in fiction from “Hamlet” to “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
The book consists of six chapters. As one would expect of a book from a historian’s-eye view, its organization is chronological, but the arrangement of time periods by chapter reflects changing approaches to mental illness. Chapter one focuses on the ancient world, during which we begin to get glimpses of madness in the written record. Chapter two, entitled “Madness in Chains,” focuses on the 16th through 18th century, during which Bethlem [Bedlam] Hospital was the cutting edge. That the institution’s nickname becoming a synonym for chaos and confusion says a lot. It was a time of brutal measures that did little to reduce the trauma of mental illness. The chapter also discusses madness in Elizabethan literature, famously that of Shakespeare.
Chapter three shifts to the 19th century, an era in which incarceration became more widespread as well as coming to be thought of as the best that could be done for the insane. In Chapter four, we learn about the rise of psychoanalysis as well as the increasing employment of treatments that involved the physical body – infamously, the lobotomy.
Chapter five is one of the most intriguing parts of the book. Entitled “Madness Denied” it opens with an exploration of the difficulties that arose from all the war-related cases of mental illness that came about as a result of the two World Wars (and others.) It also discusses a movement to overturn the prevailing approach to insanity, most famously and vociferously argued by the Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, a clinician who had a mix of promising and disastrous results from his experimental approach which used LSD, but few other medicines. What I found most interesting, however, was the discussion of the growing recognition that there was a false front in the idea that psychiatry was beginning to really understand mental illness and its treatment. This was exemplified by the Rosenhan experiments in which sane volunteers checked themselves into asylums and, for the most part, the doctors and staff couldn’t tell that they were sane (though, interestingly, in at least some cases the other patients did call it out.) The troubles in classifying and diagnosing mental illnesses have also seen in the vexed history of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness” [DSM,] a guide meant to get mental health experts on the same page about what’s what. [As opposed to ten psychiatrists offering ten different diagnoses of a given patient.] While a worthy attempt, the DSM has not – thus far – succeeded, though it could probably be argued that progress has been made.
The last chapter brings the reader up to the current period, a period dominated by two trends – first, mental illnesses being treated overwhelmingly pharmaceutically; and second, the closing of asylums and the concurrent ill-effects that have come about, societally speaking.
The book has a few graphics, mostly black and white art and photos used to enhance the reading experience. There are also appendices of references and recommended readings.
If you are interested in the history of psychiatric medicine, I’d highly recommend you check out this brief guide. It may not give you all the information you’re looking for, but it’s a good first stop to organize your thoughts on the subject.
The book consists of six chapters. As one would expect of a book from a historian’s-eye view, its organization is chronological, but the arrangement of time periods by chapter reflects changing approaches to mental illness. Chapter one focuses on the ancient world, during which we begin to get glimpses of madness in the written record. Chapter two, entitled “Madness in Chains,” focuses on the 16th through 18th century, during which Bethlem [Bedlam] Hospital was the cutting edge. That the institution’s nickname becoming a synonym for chaos and confusion says a lot. It was a time of brutal measures that did little to reduce the trauma of mental illness. The chapter also discusses madness in Elizabethan literature, famously that of Shakespeare.
Chapter three shifts to the 19th century, an era in which incarceration became more widespread as well as coming to be thought of as the best that could be done for the insane. In Chapter four, we learn about the rise of psychoanalysis as well as the increasing employment of treatments that involved the physical body – infamously, the lobotomy.
Chapter five is one of the most intriguing parts of the book. Entitled “Madness Denied” it opens with an exploration of the difficulties that arose from all the war-related cases of mental illness that came about as a result of the two World Wars (and others.) It also discusses a movement to overturn the prevailing approach to insanity, most famously and vociferously argued by the Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, a clinician who had a mix of promising and disastrous results from his experimental approach which used LSD, but few other medicines. What I found most interesting, however, was the discussion of the growing recognition that there was a false front in the idea that psychiatry was beginning to really understand mental illness and its treatment. This was exemplified by the Rosenhan experiments in which sane volunteers checked themselves into asylums and, for the most part, the doctors and staff couldn’t tell that they were sane (though, interestingly, in at least some cases the other patients did call it out.) The troubles in classifying and diagnosing mental illnesses have also seen in the vexed history of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness” [DSM,] a guide meant to get mental health experts on the same page about what’s what. [As opposed to ten psychiatrists offering ten different diagnoses of a given patient.] While a worthy attempt, the DSM has not – thus far – succeeded, though it could probably be argued that progress has been made.
The last chapter brings the reader up to the current period, a period dominated by two trends – first, mental illnesses being treated overwhelmingly pharmaceutically; and second, the closing of asylums and the concurrent ill-effects that have come about, societally speaking.
The book has a few graphics, mostly black and white art and photos used to enhance the reading experience. There are also appendices of references and recommended readings.
If you are interested in the history of psychiatric medicine, I’d highly recommend you check out this brief guide. It may not give you all the information you’re looking for, but it’s a good first stop to organize your thoughts on the subject.
July 19, 2019
'Madness: A Very Short Introduction' is a socio-cultural history on how the mentally ill have been dealt with over the centuries. It's more centred on the evolution of treatment and care than the ever-changing perception of mental illnesses in society at large (although there is a quick chapter on how madness has been depicted in art - paintings, literature, movies) so it might not be as deep in its scope as, said, Madness: A Brief History, but it still is a fascinating read.
I think what make this particularly interesting are the opinions of the author on various topics. They shine throughout shamelessly, and if some will surely find such an approach improper (it's supposed to be an introduction, not a manifesto nor a pamphlet) I was quite appreciative to see Andrew Scull, Professor of Sociology and Science Studies and expert on the history of psychiatry, dare pointing at some naked emperors. He tackles from 'the trade in lunacy' to the contemporary questionable marketisation of mental illnesses (how many more 'disorders' are there to invent these days? Ha! But thanks Big Pharma, there's always some pills to address our predicaments...) while steering bluntly away from the extremes of the anti-psychiatric movement that had sprung out in the 1960s. He is also gently mocking psychoanalysis and its tenets, while denouncing as reductionism the new 'it's all about genes and brain chemistry' dogma that took over during the past few decades. He is direct but balanced, and, to me in any case, seems quite fair.
It's dense for 'a very short introduction' (well, it reflects the very high quality of the Oxford's Very Short Introductions series!) but very engrossing. A tat provocative, perhaps, but captivating throughout.
I think what make this particularly interesting are the opinions of the author on various topics. They shine throughout shamelessly, and if some will surely find such an approach improper (it's supposed to be an introduction, not a manifesto nor a pamphlet) I was quite appreciative to see Andrew Scull, Professor of Sociology and Science Studies and expert on the history of psychiatry, dare pointing at some naked emperors. He tackles from 'the trade in lunacy' to the contemporary questionable marketisation of mental illnesses (how many more 'disorders' are there to invent these days? Ha! But thanks Big Pharma, there's always some pills to address our predicaments...) while steering bluntly away from the extremes of the anti-psychiatric movement that had sprung out in the 1960s. He is also gently mocking psychoanalysis and its tenets, while denouncing as reductionism the new 'it's all about genes and brain chemistry' dogma that took over during the past few decades. He is direct but balanced, and, to me in any case, seems quite fair.
It's dense for 'a very short introduction' (well, it reflects the very high quality of the Oxford's Very Short Introductions series!) but very engrossing. A tat provocative, perhaps, but captivating throughout.
October 19, 2022
“Drawing a hard-and-fast line between sanity and madness has always been a fraught business.”
This was a wonderfully put together book about the history of “madness.”
What is madness? Is it simply an outmoded word, only used to destroy patient dignity? Is it instead a defiant self-description in the face of modern psychiatric medicine? Whatever it might be to you, madness exists, and it continues to wreck human lives and communities as it has for millennia.
Andrew Scull briefly charts Western forays into treating the mad since the medieval period. In so many words Scull argues against Focault’s famous thesis, painting a picture of a long tug-of-war between community “care”, institutionalization, and the struggle to understand the incomprehensible. Scull follows the modern period particularly well, with a heavy skepticism I love, laying out at the end the real truth at hand: we just don’t know what causes mental illness—not really. Modern medications are helpful, but far from being the cure-all we’ve been told they are (and I’ve experienced). And without the moral and monetary infrastructure for a holistic long-term care model, what else can the system do but read a manual of symptoms and punch a new hole in you Certified-Mad Card? Why *are* we so over-diagnosed, and thus so over-medicated?
Perhaps the answer lies in the ruminations of earlier mad-doctors: We are humans with aberrations in thought, who deserve to be treated with respect and attempted to be understood. Sometimes those particular thought processes just don’t work with the society we live in. Sometimes we’re simply sensitive people who need a lot more help in navigating this world.
But then again, some of us see shadow people following us and wake up on rooftop buildings. So maybe get that prescription. (And watch out for tardive dyskinesia).
This was a wonderfully put together book about the history of “madness.”
What is madness? Is it simply an outmoded word, only used to destroy patient dignity? Is it instead a defiant self-description in the face of modern psychiatric medicine? Whatever it might be to you, madness exists, and it continues to wreck human lives and communities as it has for millennia.
Andrew Scull briefly charts Western forays into treating the mad since the medieval period. In so many words Scull argues against Focault’s famous thesis, painting a picture of a long tug-of-war between community “care”, institutionalization, and the struggle to understand the incomprehensible. Scull follows the modern period particularly well, with a heavy skepticism I love, laying out at the end the real truth at hand: we just don’t know what causes mental illness—not really. Modern medications are helpful, but far from being the cure-all we’ve been told they are (and I’ve experienced). And without the moral and monetary infrastructure for a holistic long-term care model, what else can the system do but read a manual of symptoms and punch a new hole in you Certified-Mad Card? Why *are* we so over-diagnosed, and thus so over-medicated?
Perhaps the answer lies in the ruminations of earlier mad-doctors: We are humans with aberrations in thought, who deserve to be treated with respect and attempted to be understood. Sometimes those particular thought processes just don’t work with the society we live in. Sometimes we’re simply sensitive people who need a lot more help in navigating this world.
But then again, some of us see shadow people following us and wake up on rooftop buildings. So maybe get that prescription. (And watch out for tardive dyskinesia).
February 2, 2019
I was a bit disappointed on the incredibly heavy focus on madness' history, especially the perception of the public before the 19th century, followed the era of alyssums and psychoanalysis. While they're certainly important aspects when debating mental illness, I felt the topic was beaten to death. More modern aspects of mental illness were quite sadly pushed to a short last chapter, mostly talking about the introduction of the new drugs of the 20th century.
In the whole book, close to nothing was said about actual potential causes and mechanisms of mental illness. While I certainly understand it's a tough and blurry topic, it could at least touch on a few popular hypothesis, but the book was more concerned about how society is treating the mentally ill wrong, in every method it has been employed. From time to time I was also slightly annoyed by the authors aggressive and biased tone, and in my opinion, should have tried to remain more neutral and impartial.
While not a terrible book for a novice to get an idea of the topic, I think it could have been done much better.
In the whole book, close to nothing was said about actual potential causes and mechanisms of mental illness. While I certainly understand it's a tough and blurry topic, it could at least touch on a few popular hypothesis, but the book was more concerned about how society is treating the mentally ill wrong, in every method it has been employed. From time to time I was also slightly annoyed by the authors aggressive and biased tone, and in my opinion, should have tried to remain more neutral and impartial.
While not a terrible book for a novice to get an idea of the topic, I think it could have been done much better.
January 30, 2021
As other reviewers have pointed out, the book might be more accurately entitled "The History of Madness: A Very Short Introduction". While the history is interesting, the book barely reaches the present, focusing then mostly on the shift from institutional to the so-called "community care" (which takes a well-deserved beating from Scull), along with the explosion of neuroleptics (anti-psychotic drugs) with their substantial but inconsistent benefits and rather terrifying side effects.
The book dates from 2011, and shows its age by saying very little about genetics. We're living in the genomics era now, as well as the neuroimaging era, and these ongoing developments are virtually absent from the book. This is excusable, but only just, as the book came out during the early years of GWAS (genome-wide association studies). Since then it would be understatement to say a lot has happened. For a badly needed update, see Robert Plomin's outstanding Blueprint: How DNA makes us who we are. In particular, Plomin gives a coherent explanation for the diagnostic difficulty that Scull merely notes. Most of the major psychological disorders appear to be polygenetic traits - caused in part by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of gene variants, each one making a tiny contribution. This is why these disorders tend not to have sharp boundaries - they are for the most part spectrum disorders. And as the gene variants responsible are distributed widely in the population, all of us are "on the spectrum" for them too - but in the wide range of "normal" behavior, individuals have too few of the variants to create a full-blown, debilitating disorder. Only time and much more research will show whether that turns out to be true, but Plomin presents the recent research that seems headed that way. Ten years in the genomics era is a very long time, so this had better not be the only book on madness a person reads.
The book dates from 2011, and shows its age by saying very little about genetics. We're living in the genomics era now, as well as the neuroimaging era, and these ongoing developments are virtually absent from the book. This is excusable, but only just, as the book came out during the early years of GWAS (genome-wide association studies). Since then it would be understatement to say a lot has happened. For a badly needed update, see Robert Plomin's outstanding Blueprint: How DNA makes us who we are. In particular, Plomin gives a coherent explanation for the diagnostic difficulty that Scull merely notes. Most of the major psychological disorders appear to be polygenetic traits - caused in part by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of gene variants, each one making a tiny contribution. This is why these disorders tend not to have sharp boundaries - they are for the most part spectrum disorders. And as the gene variants responsible are distributed widely in the population, all of us are "on the spectrum" for them too - but in the wide range of "normal" behavior, individuals have too few of the variants to create a full-blown, debilitating disorder. Only time and much more research will show whether that turns out to be true, but Plomin presents the recent research that seems headed that way. Ten years in the genomics era is a very long time, so this had better not be the only book on madness a person reads.
May 30, 2020
I was a bit disappointed by this & misled by the title & book jacket — what I believed was going to be a look at madness itself was more historical background with modern day psychiatry given the short end of the stick. Unfortunately I didn’t learn very much, having taken psychology courses in the past, though, I guess that’s partially my own fault. The jacket reads (in reference to Madness) “In poetry, and in prose, in drama and in the visual arts, its depredations are on display for all to see.” I was hoping for more of this sort of literary connection, but there were only a few paragraphs here & there that were satisfying.
Probably a good read for anybody that knows absolutely nothing about early psychiatry up to the asylums of the mid 1900s, but pretty bland for anyone with any knowledge in the field.
Probably a good read for anybody that knows absolutely nothing about early psychiatry up to the asylums of the mid 1900s, but pretty bland for anyone with any knowledge in the field.
December 21, 2020
A nice chronological overview of societies’ understanding of mental disorders, all the way from ancient folk tales and humoral theory to modern medicine.
April 7, 2022
describing madness as a social feature upon the world history time line. great structure and well written book. I enjoy reading it.
September 23, 2025
It is largely a history of ‘Madness’. The author is articulate and well read beyond the normal reach of a psychologist. The reader , unfortunately , doesn’t progress much.
There are factual errors too. The photograph of German nurses at Hadamar who took part in killing Jews is probably from a film and consists of actresses. They’re described as smiling proudly, which they’re not. Criticising, even Nazis, by lying is in bad taste. John Nash is called the founder of Game Theory. He was not.
Maddening ! :)
There are factual errors too. The photograph of German nurses at Hadamar who took part in killing Jews is probably from a film and consists of actresses. They’re described as smiling proudly, which they’re not. Criticising, even Nazis, by lying is in bad taste. John Nash is called the founder of Game Theory. He was not.
Maddening ! :)
November 12, 2014
I consider the title of this misleading. The other "very short introduction" titles I have read so far (Quantum mechanics & magnetism) did not suffer from this. Instead of talking about madness itself the author seems to have wanted to write about the failings of Psychiatry and Psycho-pharmacology. I was looking for an examination of mental illness and instead got a heap of vitriol and scorn against two very recent features in a subject with a long history.
March 8, 2017
Lo que más ha destacado para mí de este breve repaso de la historia de la locura es que, lo que realmente deberíamos temer no son a los locos, sino a los que los que se "encargan" de ellos.
La tranquilizadora de B. Rush es una buena metáfora del tratamiento que han recibido los enfermos mentales, especialmente los más graves, a lo largo de los últimos cientos años: sin ningún tipo de estimulación externa y limitados físicamente lo máximo posible.
La tranquilizadora de B. Rush es una buena metáfora del tratamiento que han recibido los enfermos mentales, especialmente los más graves, a lo largo de los últimos cientos años: sin ningún tipo de estimulación externa y limitados físicamente lo máximo posible.
October 22, 2013
More of a sociohistorical overview than I expected, and certainly one of the more openly opinionated entries I've read in the Very Short Introduction series. Not a bad book, by any stretch, but not as good as I had hoped it would be, likely for the reasons mentioned above.
August 26, 2019
This would be an absolutely excellent text for someone who is completely unfamiliar with the field. His scope is just broad enough to be thorough but also narrow enough to give important detailed information and keep it interesting (which I say only because I personally find too-broad scopes quite boring). Even though I'm quite familiar with the field and had a lot of previous knowledge about the different eras he discusses, I still loved it because of how Scull writes. He's has a very balanced analysis of every theorist and every theory: he carefully points out the faults but also doesn't completely admonish them. This is exactly the kind of balance I hope to strike in my own work. And I loved how much attention he paid to the arts, correctly noting their importance in the depiction of and contribution to ideas of madness. It never felt that that aspect overtook the historical narration of the text, which I appreciated - the strength of its presence was just the right amount. I also greatly appreciated how the text doesn't shy away from the extremely negative history of madness but also doesn't give sermons on it, which can really get tiring when all you read is texts on this topic. I really don't have enough good things to say about this text, it's definitely one of the best texts I've read on the topic.
January 27, 2018
Um livro para ser lido numa tarde. Debruça-se muito levemente, como o próprio título indica, sobre a história da Loucura. Indo desde a Grécia Antiga, ainda que muito poucas páginas sejam dedicas a ela, passando muito subtilmente pela Idade Média. Detém-se um pouco mais na Idade Clássica, devido ao facto de Londres ter tido uns dos mais importantes hospitais no que se refere à loucura. O tal Bethlem Royal Hospital, fazendo paralelo com um outro em França, Hôpital général. Faz uma breve referência ao livro de Foucalt "História da Loucura na Idade Clássica", mas segue o seu caminho independente dele. A parte positiva é que dá uma visão mais moderna dos asilos presentes na América e toda a história ao longo dos finais do século XIX e o século XX. Retrata com alguma profundidade o "fin-de-sieclè" (do séc XIX para o séc XX) — o pessimismo e o desespero que marcaram a teoria psiquiátrica sobre a loucura. Na última parte do livro foca-se no suposto avanço que a psiquiatria deu para o tratamento do que pode ser considerado a loucura. Mostrando no final uma visão geral dos possíveis ganhos monetários com a criação de fármacos que fizeram a população dependente deles, incidindo sobretudo nos Estados Unidos da América.
May 12, 2025
Esperaba otra cosa, el título debería ser "Historia occidental de la Psiquiatría de los últimos siglos". Es una crítica fatalista del campo de la Psiquiatría que, además, ha envejecido regular, ya que se publicó antes de las últimas ediciones del DSM y el autor leyó las mejoras en las categorías diagnósticas como patologización de comportamientos normales. El tiempo no le ha dado la razón, simplemente trastornos tan mal entendidos como el autismo están siendo mejor identificados y se están desarrollando herramientas diagnósticas más precisas e interseccionales.
En fin, no es tanto un libro de divulgación como un ensayo donde los datos que se presentan están escogidos y presentados para dar forma a su opinión. Aun así es interesante si no sabes nada del nacimiento de la Psiquiatría y su historia con el psicoanálisis, se lee rápido y tiene datos curiosos.
Para divulgación sobre trastornos mentales recomendaría a Sam Kean, y para ensayos sobre salud mental, intentaría buscar autores que hablen de forma encarnada sobre el tema, preferiblemente si tienen conocimientos teóricos como Devon Price o Steph Jones (todos angloparlantes, lo sé 😂).
En fin, no es tanto un libro de divulgación como un ensayo donde los datos que se presentan están escogidos y presentados para dar forma a su opinión. Aun así es interesante si no sabes nada del nacimiento de la Psiquiatría y su historia con el psicoanálisis, se lee rápido y tiene datos curiosos.
Para divulgación sobre trastornos mentales recomendaría a Sam Kean, y para ensayos sobre salud mental, intentaría buscar autores que hablen de forma encarnada sobre el tema, preferiblemente si tienen conocimientos teóricos como Devon Price o Steph Jones (todos angloparlantes, lo sé 😂).
March 11, 2020
The tone takes getting used to, but this is an interesting precis on the history of our treatment of those who are mad. It is not from their angle, but that of the establishment that has alternatively locked them away or filled them with medications that this history is presented.
This is a work of medical history - it does not cover the patient's perspective, it does not explore the feeling of illness or the subjective state many of the mad experience, living as they do at the margin of society and a common reality.
It is by turns sharp and cynical, exploratory and writing off various revolutions in psychiatric history. I enjoyed how bluntly it refuted lots of supposed breakthroughs, and am glad it squarely faces up to the difficulty we still face treating mental illness in various forms and in an increasingly broad range of severity.
I would recommend this, but only to those who have enjoyed something like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or some history more generally. It is not a difficult read.
This is a work of medical history - it does not cover the patient's perspective, it does not explore the feeling of illness or the subjective state many of the mad experience, living as they do at the margin of society and a common reality.
It is by turns sharp and cynical, exploratory and writing off various revolutions in psychiatric history. I enjoyed how bluntly it refuted lots of supposed breakthroughs, and am glad it squarely faces up to the difficulty we still face treating mental illness in various forms and in an increasingly broad range of severity.
I would recommend this, but only to those who have enjoyed something like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or some history more generally. It is not a difficult read.
January 11, 2024
Plagada de datos estadísticos e historicos. En ocasiones los argumentos del autor se contradicen, pero en general pinta una línea del tiempo bastante clara e interesante sobre la historia de la locura.
April 12, 2024
A really cool overview of the history of madness! My only critique is that it's super westernised and doesn't touch on the intersection of race and the treatment of the mad as much as it could have. THOUGH, it is a very short introduction so possibly understandable?
October 7, 2018
An historical account on madness - that is, the mentally ill - and society's developing, often troubling response to it.
January 25, 2023
Una gran introducción
May 4, 2013
This should perhaps be titled “The History of Madness – A very Short Introduction” as Andrew Scull concentrates on the treatment of the mad throughout history rather than discussing in any depth what madness is. As a History it is very informative, from an excess of black bile, to asylums, psychoanalysis, and big pharma, Scull tells to the story of how they all evolved and how their rising stars have all fallen. Never less than skeptical about any of the mechanisms for helping the mentally ill, Scull leaves one with the feeling that the mad are as poorly served by society as they have ever been and that madness is as little understood as it has ever been. I found the lack of discussion on the mechanisms of madness to be a little disappointing, but found my own ideas about the competency of psychiatry as a whole to have been reinforced.
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August 10, 2013I really enjoyed this book but I was expecting more of an overview of how madness works, both as a biological and as a psychoanalytical condition. Instead, this book is about the history of psychological treatment. I learned how afflicted people were locked up, the way methodology adapted and evolved, the slow dissolution of the insane asylum, and the chilling future of pharmaceutical interest in treatment. There's very little on what madness is or how it works. Still, the subject matter is undeniably fascinating and the author does a good job at distilling its academic roots for laymen. Definitely worth a read.
January 11, 2019
One of the best VSIs I have read - although the author is quite obviously frustrated and angry, which comes across as furious sarcasm on occasion, his interpretation of the history of the treatment of mental disorders is excellent, particularly the tendency human beings have to lurch from one extreme to the the other, denigrating all forms of treatment that have gone before. Many of the VSIs fail (in my opinion at least) to produce a cogent argument, darting off in all directions, but this one has a clear thread to it, which makes its contents easier to remember.
November 18, 2015
This book is not so much about madness as it is about evolving views of madness through select eras of Western history. This was an interesting read but I do wish the author could have remained more objective at points.
October 28, 2015
Very informative and the subject matter is quite enthralling, but not one of the best written in the "very short introduction" series. It's very dry.
November 2, 2015
As with all the Very Short Introduction books, marvellous concise and packed summary of key themes, ideas, theories regarding 'madness'.
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